Wind and Sand
by AimmiA
Summary: A NnoiNel fanfic that is based on a more loving and humane relationship rather than a masochistic hollow one. First takes place before Aizen takes over, when their relationship is in a budding state. & No, its not a corny luv story I hope to god...XD
1. Catch Me as I Fall

Rarely would sand speckles ride the wind shimmering in the dark, only to disappear again in this black and white frame. Watching from here, I always wondered where is it they go and what purpose do they see being together with the unpredictable wind.

_Is it the same for you? Are you unwillingly picked up by this wind, and carried in the directions you wish not to travel? Is this, that same instinct that haunts your tormented soul, Nnoitra?_

_Sitting on this edge, why is it that I keep asking myself this over and over? _

_The dark sky here can never find the sun, so why should I hold the answer?_

"Well ain't this lovely, sightseeing are we now, Neliel?" Ringed a hoarse voice through the silence.

_Why, is it that even here, he finds me?_

"Oi bitch, that mask sittin' tightly on ya or what?"

Slowly I turned around, only to give him that same look I gave him every day.

"What do you want, Nnoitra?" I sighed, knowing too well what came next.

That big grin rarely left his face, making his eyes smaller, rendering any signs of his true intents. That is, if he really had any.

"Don't play dumb with me Neliel, ya know why I'm here." He hissed, swinging his apathetic crescent for a sword.

Again I looked into his eyes, trying to figure out this man, as I tried for the past two years since I met him.

"Tch, again with this bullshit. Get over it! I'm tired of seeing that fucking face you make," he spat "how about I tear it off right now?" His smile widened to the point where it began to resemble his Santa Teresa.

"Just what is it he truly wants?" I thought to myself as I turned back to face the desert.

_Standing on the edge of Las Noches, looking far ahead, I try to find peace again._

"Ooi! You fucking ignori-"

"Hey Nnoitra," I cut him off.

With an arrogant "huh?" he stood himself in a ready position for an attack.

"Come here" I said, turning my head back to face him. His confused face slightly made me curl my lips.

Silence fills us again, only the wind echoes.

"Just come, I want to ask you something."

For a second he hesitantly stared at me but then snapped into a serious expression and lazily made his way beside me.

_...If you hate me so much, why is it that you always come closer to me at every chance I give you, Nnoitra?_

Then again his voice shot through, "What the fuck you want woman?" and I couldn't help but slightly squint.

"I ain't got the fucking time for your insignificant issu-"

"Sshh…" I closed my eyes and tried to embrace the silence again. My face must have shown a faint, unexpected expression because he did not say a word.

As I slowly opened my eyes again, the white desert filled my view. Out of the corner of my eyes I saw him standing by my left side, glaring at me. Again the wind picked up and blew at our hairs, and I couldn't help but sigh at its unknown course.

"Oi…Neliel…" he began "…you still not over th-"

"Tell me Nnoitra," I say looking far ahead "..what do you see in this desert?"

"…huh?" His expression widened and stayed still for a second.

"…what the FUCK?!" He burst laughing "You fuckin' gonna throw philosophies at me? Huahaha! Neliel! I swear you never fail to become more annoying than before, EVER!" Swinging his Teresa Nnoitra yelled and jumped away from my side.

"I'm fucking tired of this!" He slammed his crescent onto the floor and I squinted at the noise.

"Fight me now, you cow!" he raised his Teresa and I came closer to the edge.

"This time I'll fucking show you your place in this faction!" He swung his sword around and I spread my arms. "Neliel!! Today I'll fucking kill-!"

And I fell.

"…you" was the last thing I've heard from him as he stood there shocked like a statue, holding his Santa Teresa up in the air and franticly looking at the spot where I just stood.

I fell head down, silently gazing at the horizon that turned upside down. The wind brushed against my whole body. It felt like I was the wind itself.

I closed my eyes and tried to listen to it, to the way it howled into my ears. And trying my hardest to find the answer I didn't notice my tears, or the way they hit him, or the way his hands wrapped around me... I only felt the black sky engulfing me until everything went dark and I got lost in my own desert.


	2. Candles and Shadows

I ran lost in the white sands, hopelessly searching for something, yelling someone's name out, until I became aware I lay shrouded in darkness. I could see nothing, hear nothing, and feel nothing. All of a sudden I became noticed the warmth and comfort. Then I became aware of my body and I felt my senses coming back.

With a bit of difficulty I tried opening my eyes, but they remained tightly shut. , I flexed myself to get up, finding the soft surface underneath me for support. But a hand gently forced me down and a voice faintly echoed. I couldn't understand who this person was, but their hand felt warm.

"...n-ugh" My throat numbly uttered a sound.

"…its okay... Nel…" A scratchy voice whispered.

Where did I hear it from before?

Then without a warning something cold and wet touched my eyes, slowly made its way to my cheeks and down to my lips. Gently curling them in, I tasted the water, realizing how dry my mouth was. The soothing liquid helped me open my eyes.

Eventually I realized I rested in a small, dimly lit room. Soft yellow light flickered from three tiny candles beside a window. I found myself lying in a bed, and a figure sat on it next to me.

"…how are you feeling?" a man's voice softly spoke.

…_that voice, without a doubt its…_

He put the cloth to my face again, rinsing the sweat off. I must have had a fever.

"N-noi…" I trailed off in surprise.

"D-does your head hurt…?" he began "You know I tried to break the fall but you...you just jumped so suddenly and by the time I caught up to you, you were…so…and…"

I could not listen, the fact that he was here, looking after me like this greatly shocked me. His run on words stopped awkwardly when he saw the face I made. Was this his first time telling how he felt to someone?

"Nel…I'm sorry..." he said quietly turning away from my rising gaze, finding something to look at the floor.

I remembered now that l fell off atop Las Noches into the desert and Nnoitra stood there taunting me but…Was he the one to catch me and bring me here, now that I look at it, into my room?

"What did you just say...?" I whispered clearing my throat and keeping my gaze firmly on his face.

"...I know you were upset …an acquaintance of yours died on our last mission-"

"He was like a brother to me" I said quietly.

"…right…he was…" Nnoitra trailed off, shifting his look to the side to study the wall.

After a pause, not knowing how to take this surprising side of him, I looked down on my hands and asked "Why did you…catch me?"

Nnoitra looked back at me in a surprise.

"Eh..?"

"Nothing would have happened to me if I hit the sand idiot."

"What the hell?" He raised his voice. "What else was I supposed to do? Just stare at your damn suicide?"

"I just told-!"

"Besides, it was just pure instinct! It's not like I even..."

"…instinct?" I could not help but look up at him. "Was it _really_ instinct, Nnoitra?"

He looked back at me, his eye matched with mine. It is then that I realized how close he sat next to me.

"…You were all weird and crying, ya know? And then you just passed out when I caught you…" He looked away, out the window.

I looked back at my hands.

"What the hell happened to you, Nel...? "

I clutched my hands. Could Nnoitra have the capacity to understand my reasons? It felt like that time again, when out whole faction carried that mission…he didn't leave me behind but…is he just playing a bad joke on me?

"…Nel?"

…_he called me "Nel" again. I noticed it wasn't "Neliel" anymore…_

"I…" breathlessly began but did not found the courage to end my sentence. My whole body ached from the stress.

"I wanted to…" I sighed, "…to see whether you had an actual reason or not." I said and looked up at him.

Nnoitra kept on looking out the window, the eye patch covered his expression. All of a sudden he abruptly stood up and walked towards the window. I only followed him with my eyes.

He looked out at the desert for a long time without moving and it seemed like, without breathing.

"These little grains of sand eat at each other like dogs. Each one is franticly trying to reach to the top, to the surface and hopes to be noticed by the wind. To be picked up by it and carried in its bliss, away from this god-forsaken world…" He spoke softly, only his last words sounded bitter.

Then Nnoitra looked at me, but his face was covered by the shadow.

"Good-night Neliel…Tomorrow's the next mission, don't sleep through it." He walked away.

The breeze from the door made the candles go out. Its shutting sound forced me to remain in silence.

...Nnoitra…you're loud all the time and then all of a sudden you're quiet. Your vicious expression never leaves your face but sometimes, when alone, you're woeful. You're always spread out like an eagle, tall and proud, but I've seen you shrivel in that desert, touching the sand. When it seems you try your hardest to hate me, for an instant you embrace me.

I sighed

…_Just what is it that keeps your mind from making its decision?..._

Long before I knew it, I fell asleep, trapped in a world without words until the next day.


	3. Silent Farewell to the Black Sky

"But why us again!? Those damn ninths deserve this, or better yet how about the tenth faction goes! They're all pussies!"

"Then go transfer into a lower faction, you belong more with them anyway, Ciro."

_Did you ever wonder how one wakes up when time stands still? When night dominates over day?_

"Ya know you fucking act like you're the toughest shit around here Ulquiorra, but fuck ya ain't even the strongest!"

_It's simple, you don't. You're forever stuck in a nightmare, swaying back and forth between a line of life and death. It's a restless felling all of us are fucking cursed here. _

"There is no reason for you to state the obvious. And don't blame others for your lack of a brain either."

"Holy fuck! Are you guys even listening to what this shit head is saying? Ooi! Felix! Nnoitra! Szayel!

Leaning against a wall I looked up at the moon, getting pissed off at both Ciro and Ulquiorra with every passing second.

"I think I told you not to call me by my first name, Mendez." Szayel bitched, fixing his glasses.

Ciro Mendez was a dumbass but Ulquiorra's phlegmatic fuck of a character really dug under my skin. All around me were idiots, cowards, and egocentric sons of bitches. Fuck this could not be called a faction, these pansies shit their pants just by looking at the demons we face.

I was ready to go piss someone off like Szayel Aporro to make myself at least feel somewhat better when the last member of our faction appeared. She soundlessly made it to our lines where we faced our leader.

"Well good morning to you too Neliel, right on time!" Felix yelled.

"Shut the fuck up! I'm sick of your human terminology! Look around, it's a fucking NIGHT, moron!" Ciro snapped.

"Fuck, I gotta remember to shove this guy's head down Felix's ass after this…" I thought to myself.

t seemed that Felix wanted to give Ciro a piece of his mind but he was cut off by Lux, our faction's Espada.

"Silence you fools! There's no time to take things so lightly. We've got a serious issue on our hands." Her fierce posture stood in front of our faction, looking down on us like ants.

"Two days ago we lost Indigo and that's a seventh member already in ONE god damned month!" She spat.

No one dared to speak. It was true, our sixth faction bled like a pig out there and Indigo was the strongest. Fuck, at this rate all of us would be wiped into powder, all thanks to the lovely leadership of our dearest bitch Espada.

The topic on Indigo's death out of curiosity forced me look at Neliel, who stood two idiots away from me. She didn't even bother looking up. That idiot, when would she finally get over it?

"Now there's just six of you left, and I can't say that all of you here are the strongest out of the original thirteen." Lux continued, "Thus I am changing the battle formation so listen up ladies!" she grinned.

Oh fuck, here it goes... Lux only grinned when she was about to implement something sadistic. That revolting bitch…

"It's simple, I'll lead with Felix and Ulquiorra for fast offence, while Neliel and Ciro will be behind for long range. Szayel will stand by for medical relief and support. And you Nnoitra..." she grinned.

"Just aint' my day..." I said under my breath.

"Since you're a hybrid capable of long range and close combat, I want you out of sight. You'll be an element of surprise and strike when the enemy least expects it, got it?"

Lifting up my head, I suspiciously studied her face.

"…aren't we're all releasing our zanpakutous as soon as we're getting there?" I asked

"Not you or me. I, for obvious reasons and you tend to swing those blades of yours too carelessly."

"Heh," I strained a smile, "so you're writing me a death sentence eh?"

"On the contrary," her smile got bigger "if you don't make a fuss no enemy would detect you.

It's a very safe position, if you know how to act in it."

"Tch fine, if it can't be helped…"

"I wasn't asking you Nnoitra. This is an order." Lux snapped

The bitch always had a dangerous atmosphere around her. Lux Auf der Maur deadliness lay in her unpredictable and twisted mind. She could well be the third ranked Espada, but "out of modesty" as she liked to say, stayed the sixth. I thought she just did it to piss the rest off by mocking their power. Her hollow mask sat rigidly on her head, resembling a cross between a canine and a feline. The sides of her face were shielded by the deadly curved fangs of the mask. Her jet black hair and toxic yellow eyes only added to the ferocious killer she came known to be. Yet somehow irritatingly enough, she reminded me of Neliel. Maybe because the fool looked up so much to Lux and tried to be like her…but it annoyed the hell outta' me.

"And as for the location," she began "well, we're no longer needed on the north of Hueco Mundo. The imps figured out there's no use in getting in through the Garganta towers. Instead we're going…" she paused and smiled.

Instantly tension ran through us. Hueco Mundo was invaded only in three places, the northern borders, the Dangai and the...

"…to assist factions three to one in the Eastern Dead Zone." Lux finished and began, much to her amusement, studying our choked faces.

The Dead Zone - or how _they_ referred to it, _Lautlos Flur_ - remained a nightmare incapable of being imagined. This corridor dimension connecting Hueco Mundo and Heaven's Realm to Hell itself, ranked as the devil's playground.

Not so long ago Hell launched a full scale evasion force into our world, completely forcing us into an all-out war. Oddly enough the demons or as we called em' _Akuma_, did not seem to have any organized battalions or leaders. Those fiends just poured in ass-raping numbers into Hueco Mundo and devoured everything in sight. A rumour started going around that some dumb fuck opened a sealed gate in _Lautlos Flur _that meant to keep Hell out. But fuck…a lot of other shit went round 'nough to make your eyes bulge out.

"Maur-sama…" Neliel began, stepping to the front, "is it really wise for one of us to separate from the whole group?"

"My decisions are final, Neliel. Don't like them, transfer somewhere else, got it?"

"But how will Nnoitra be capable of holding out his own?! They come out of nowher-"

"Shut the hell up Neliel!" I yelled at her. "I don't fucking need your opinion on this, ya got it?"

Taken back by my words she stood back in the line.

That bitch, it's her pity I loathed the most. She acted like I was a hopeless tramp, trying to shield me, to change me. She only saw one fucking thing in me and never anything else. What the fuck d'she knew anyway? Her, them, and everyone else, they knew nothing of me.

"Now, now boys and girls, let's play nice, shall we?" Lux mocked us. "Everyone is clear on what we're doing?"

"Yes, Maur-sama!" retards like Cero and Ulquiorra shouted.

"Alright, we're first going to our temporary base to receive orders from the all mighty ones, but that doesn't mean you're not going to let your guard down, right?" She smiled slyly.

There was no need for her to repeat, we all braced our _Zanpakutous_ as Lux reached for the _Kouken_ well hidden underneath her white clothes. _Kouken_ was a small silver key required to enter _Lautlos Flur_ to any desirable location of the corridor. Any other way meant walking to the eastern edge of Hueco Mundo where our world overlapped with the Dead Zone. However that took about three days to reach if you use Sonido.

Firmly holding the_ Kouken_, Lux rapidly pierced the air with it, making an opening to the other realm.

"Here we go ladies," she smiled "let the fun begin in the East."

Once she disappeared through the opening, one by one of us followed in. When my turn came, three people remained behind me, Cero, Felix and Neliel. Taking my time, I stopped to look at the sky again.

"What's the holdup Nnoitra? Move it!" Felix yelled .

"…once we're in there for more than three days, you'll do anything to see the sky be black again." I said.

"…he has a god point." Neliel answered instead of Felix and we all took a moment to gaze at the sky.

There is no color in our world, everything is black and white. Even before we're born, the pigment from our lives is already drained. And to think there exists a meaning to anything we do is foolish. Nothing will ever change our black sky or the burden of devouring many lives before having our own, or the world's intent to have us die. But having you here somehow gave me this unexplainable hope…and that feeling scared me the most.

"Let's go," Neliel was the first to break the silence.

I looked at her face, she was smiling very peacefully and somehow that made all of us feel a bit at ease.

"Yeah, let's go" I said, giving a half smile back to her.

Entering the threshold, we could not even fathom to what we'd have to live through for the next few days.


	4. Lautlos Flur

**Author's note:** Erm well, sadly it has been about a year or so since I've updated this story. But I truly thought about writing new chapters almost daily! But alas… lack of time, university, and just the unpredictable student life prevented me from doing so. But I'm very determined to keep on writing! Even if it takes me weeks or months or years to update, I'll still do it….. :D

Anyway about this chapter…I did not think how hard it would be to write an action scene. Bleach is all about fighting, and Kubo really draws the scenes well, without much devotion to the dialogue. But as a writer, how would you paint such scenes using words while still maintaining the superb visual and fast pace? It's intriguing, but I hope to develop good writing techniques from this story.

But for now, I hope you won't be too confused, bored or appalled with my writing. And I'm more than open to criticism

And also, thank you for reading the story so far!

* * *

_Do you remember a time when the clouds reined the sky, completely engulfing the blue? Everything felt grey, dull and still, even the shadows elongated in a darker tint. Pupils contracted from the white hanging over your head, forcing you to look down on the ground or stay shut indoors. It felt as if the clouds were a heavy burden sent upon us, only to deliver fear and despair._

_This is only a scant comparison to __Lautlos Flur__._

* * *

A dismal atmosphere lay nested in the air, pressing down on the onyx sands. No signs of life or evidence of death stretched across this black desert. The tense calmness foreboded something ominous, but the still scenery told otherwise. A sheer white sky slept above with not a single cloud in sight.

Barragan stood fixed to his spot watching the black hills of sand. The tiny sand particles carried by the wind could easily be spotted against the contrasting white horizon.

"Luisenbarn-sama, forgive my intrusiveness but _El Majestad Supremo_ is calling a meeting. All Espada are to attend." Said a young looking Arrancar.

"Tch, meetings won't help us solve anything anymore, we just have to take them out until there's not one left." Barragan said, turning to face the man.

"You may go now Stark. Go round up the Fraccion for me, will ya? Those bastards," he pointed at the desert "will be waking up soon and I want to rip their heads from within their grounds."

"Did we not try that before and nearly got ourselves killed?" Stark asked with evident sarcasm.

"Don't question my decisions, boy. Do what you're told." Barragan snapped at him.

"Yes sir." With a bow, Stark retreated back into the hallway and soon disappeared among the black walls of the base.

Groaning something under his nose, Barragan stepped out of his room and headed towards the opposite end of the hallway. The base looked a lot like Las Noches, only ten times smaller, and instead of white, it composed of compressed black sand. Small torches evenly distributed along the walls accompanied Barragan with their white flames. Ironically enough, they called this place _Las D__**í**__as_.

Making his way to the meeting room, Barragan slowly opened the gigantic black doors. They slowly revealed five figures seated at a big square table.

"Please, Barragan, take a seat. We have just a few minutes to discuss this." Called a voice form the far end.

Without saying a word, Barragan took the last seat beside the second Espada.

"Now that we're all here, I'd like to quickly say, there is a change in plans." The same voice spoke, "The research faction detected unusual activity far north, we suspect there may be an_ Exsequor_ in that area. Thus all the Fraccions here are to head towards there, I will be leading."

"Arkiel-sama, in order for us to reach north this fast, we need to shift the Akuma's attention somewhere else." Barragan spoke.

"Precisely. This is why I've set up a bait in the east."

* * *

"Ok my cute _Números_ lets not fall behind!" Lux sung.

"_Las D__**í**__as_ should be just up ahead!" She yelled, enthusiastically marching through the sand.

"What the hell is she so happy about at this sort of time!" Ciro complained.

"Idiot, unlike your scared ass, most of us can't wait to cut Akuma throats." Felix answered.

"Well Ulquiorra's and Nnoitra's faces sure don't show it!"

"How bout' you look at what's in front of ya." Nnoitra said, with a slight threat.

"That's fine by me." Ciro grinned and turned his face forward, eyeing his velvet eyes at Neliel's behind.

Nnoitra getting pissed off at this, readied to lay a devastating punch on Ciro's vulture mask but Felix managed to hold off his tyranny.

"Maur-sama, we've been walking for a good half-hour already, maybe we went in the wrong direction?" Neliel asked.

Lux, walking five meters in front of the group stopped to shoot a pathetic look at her Faccion.

"What, getting bored?" She asked sadistically.

"N-no…it's just, it's so hard to walk in here. Looking up is difficult because the white sky blinds you and looking down makes you dizzy from this black sand and... the air is too thin…"

"Well no one said this is going to be easy, princess" Lux said, looking up at the horizon, raising her hand to shade her eyes.

"It seems that there will be no buildings in sight for quite a while…" She said and trailed off into thought, putting a hand to her chin.

"Maur-sama…I know everyone is aware of this but it is odd that there seems to be no trace of fighting," Ulquiorra began, "and we have not encountered the enemy yet."

"I know it's rather strange..." Lux said with a perplexed face.

"Ok, I tell you what, all of you camp out here for now and I'll scout ahead and see if I'll find anything. I'm putting Ulquiorra in charge."

"Yes, Maur-sama" Urquiorra bowed.

"When I come back all of your asses better shine with glamour because I won't be so nice after this." Lux threatened everyone and Sonido-ed away.

"What a relief…" Neliel sighed, plunking on the sand.

"Get a hold on yourself Neliel, or you'll fucking die here." Nnoitra casually replied, walking to stand about two meters away from her, which by his terms, felt like sitting next to her. Neliel buried her head in her knees, without giving much reaction to his words.

"Hmph, bringing this woman here was a big mistake. She can't do anything in her current condition." Ulquiorra spoke coldly.

The four men excluding Szayel glared at Neliel who showed no reaction to their stares. She simply kept her head down, hardly breathing. Szayel Aporro on the other hand, busily focused his attention to the white sky, having no problem looking directly at it while Nnoitra, noticing how the environment hardly affected him, couldn't resist saying something idiotic:

"And what the fuck are you all glittering about, you pink haired fag?" He cursed.

In an instant everyone, even Ulquiorra, turned their attention to the four-eyed man.

"Hmph," Szayel began, arrogantly fixing his glasses. "You gentlemen are a bit too thick-headed. Why is it that I am able to withstand this atmosphere you ask?" He said, spreading his arms and widening his smile.

"No, I'm sure we didn't ask you that…" Felix mumbled sarcastically.

"Well it's simple! You see, I have devised these eye lenses," he pointed at his glasses "capable of filtering ultraviolet light as well as balancing out the rest of the gamma channels. In other words, this field looks no different to me than Hueco Mundo." All full of himself he finished and looked at everyone for a reaction.

However no one paid attention to him. Ulquiorra, hands in pockets, stood aside from everyone else studying the landscape. Felix and Cero sat on the sand across from Neliel and had a small chit-chat about their Ceros. Nnoitra settling himself exactly a meter next to Nel, began to play with the sand.

"F-fine! Don't praise my invention! I won't give a fuck when all your retina's burn to-"

"Oh shut your over-fucked hole up!" Nnoitra cut him off with a death stare.

Enraged, Szayel probably wanted to comment on whose facial hole looked bigger, but he knew too well what happened to the last guy who made a comment about Nnoitra's face. Hence Aporro refrained from answering and quietly sat down on the sand turning his back away from everyone.

No one spoke for five minutes. Only a slight breeze coming out of nowhere suddenly broke the silence. It felt very ice-chilling despite the spring like temperature in _Lautlos Flur_.

"The sun is setting…" Ulquiorra spoke to himself looking at the distant sand.

"Huh? Where?" Ciro asked dumbly looking around for a sun.

"Not here you idiot, on Earth!" Felix explained.

Dumbfounded, Ciro paused to think.

"Hey! How the hell can you tell??" He whined.

"Ugh, sometimes I wish your brain was as sharp as your ears..." Felix said.

"And what the hell does that mean? I'm not stupid just cuz' I can't tell time!"

The two argued again. Their hoarse voices pierced the silence and made the tense atmosphere look deadly.

Nnoitra kept on pondering the sand, occasionally looking up at Neliel shivering in the breeze. He slowly picked up the black shimmering dust and dropped it, watching as the wind blew it away. The sand felt cold on his fingers and when he slit his whole hand through, it felt as if he emerged it in ice cold water. Small pulsations echoed through his body every time he'd touch the sand, tensing every muscle in him. He could not tell where this sensation came from - the sand or perhaps something else - but with every passing minute the pulsations intensified.

"Don't be a fucking hypocrite Felix! I know you were looking at those naked human chicks too!"

"That, was probably Szayel, I'm not as perverted as you two."

Szayel sharply turned around upon hearing this disgusting accusation.

"You fucking make me sick! As if I would ever do that for my pleasure! I was simply studying the females in their natural habitat for my research!" Szayel defended himself.

"Ya know, I wouldn't call the bath-house a natural habitat." Felix sarcastically noted.

"Hahahaha! Good one Felix!" Ciro laughed.

"Y-you bastards!" Getting red and fixing his glasses, Szayel stood up. "Don't associate me with the likes of you! Your puny brains can't even comprehend the importance of huma-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Nnoitra cut him off.

"The hell?! Stop shutting my fucking mouth!" Szayel yelled back at him.

"Just shut the fuck up! All of you!" Nnoitra snapped, anxiously kneeling over the sand with his left hand fixed firmly on the ground.

"Th-there's something moving underneath the ground…just listen" He added.

Everyone immediately fell silent and focused on Nnoitra. Instantly they heard a faint echoing all across the desert. The sounds resembled little jerking cries of seagulls mixed with rubbing resin on plastic surface.

"W-what the hell is that?" Ciro asked, backing away.

"Hey, keep your panties on. Could there be something underneath us?" Felix turned to Szayel.

"It is difficult to tell where the sound is coming from…" Szayel began.

"It's them" Ulquiorra added.

` "Huh? Who!? Where?!" Ciro cried, shaking all over and hopelessly looking around.

"You idiot be quiet!" Felix snapped, "Just focus on where they'll come out from!"

The group frantically looked at each other, straining all their senses as the jerking sounds crept closer, faster, and faster. Nnoitra and Neliel were the only ones left sitting on the sand. His hand firmly lay planted on the sand and cold sweat dripped down his face. Somehow, not knowing why, he could feel them with every cell in his body. There were millions of them under the sand, flowing their way up to the surface, and in any second they would sprout like an infestation of deadly weeds. The question was, where would the first ones strike? If only he could focus his body more he would see them…

"Fuck concentrate!" Nnoitra thought to himself. "Where will they-"

He suddenly jerked and looked up. "Nel…" he whispered, looking at Neliel's shivering body.

"Neliel get away!" Nnoitra screamed lunging towards her.

In a split second a body of black smoke erupted from beneath the sand, diving out like a great white towards its helpless prey. Nnoitra, with Neliel grasped in his arms somehow managed to doge the black beast in mid-air. Both of them landed and rolled a meter away from the black thing.

"Ugha-! Akuh-keuh!" Neliel coughed from all the dust erected by the creature. Nnoitra helped her get up pulling on her arm.

Right in front of them formed a large figure enveloped in black dust. It stood on all fours and its beaming almond eyes faintly emitted a gray glow.

Neliel couldn't tell if the beast's spiritual pressure or just the fear itself that strangled her throat and paralyzed her body. The only thing she understood while eyeing the Akuma and clutching Nnoitra's right arm was that if it wasn't for him, she'd be crushed by the thing's cadaverous jaw.

"N-noitora…" Neliel uttered.

"Idiot, get a hold on yourself Nel." Nnoitra said, holding out his Zanpaktou with his left hand.

The creature shook off the sand and when the dust settled, the Akuma appeared in the blinding daylight. It had long black claws, ridged hide and a large wolf like face, short pointy ears, long tail, and deadly canine teeth. The Akuma growled slightly and advanced towards Neliel and Nnoitra. From its mouth a dire black fluid dripped onto the onyx sands, instantly blending with the ground.

Within seconds hundreds more jumped out of the sand all over the desert.

"Shiiiit! Lux just had to disappear at a time like this!" Ciro whimpered.

"Such a troublesome thing…" Ulquiorra unsheathed his sword and lunged for the Akuma in front of Ciro.

"Make sure they don't bite you," Szayel began "it'll be the end of it once you'll get possessed by their essence like Neliel did last time…although at this rate-" He took out his sword just in time to block a charging Akuma.

The overwhelming power of the beast pushed Szayel backward but Felix slashed the Akuma in half from behind.

"I-I don't need the help from the likes of you!" Aporro screamed, fixing his glasses.

"Shut up. These shit heads are dumb." Felix said, slicing another one. "They don't have any analytical skills and just charge at whatever target they see in front of them."

"Out of all of you I know that best!!" Szayel screamed, dodging an Akuma's jaw.

"That's why we should put our differences aside and work as a team!!!" Felix pushed Szayel aside and cut off its head.

Szayel tumbled backward while clenching his sword.

"F-fine! I'll work with you but I'll never acknowledge you!!!" He shouted back at Felix's back.

"Haaaaaah?" Felix turned his head and glared down at Aporro. "I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Ciro" He grinned.

"OH GO TO HELL!" Szayel jumped while slicing an Akuma behind himself.

Ahead of them, Ulquiorra skilfully advanced his way through rows of fiends. He dodged, jumped over, under and around them, leaving a trail of dead black bodies.

"Ulquiorra! Wait for us!!!" Ciro screamed chopping his long bastard sword at a group of dashing imps.

Off to the side Nnoitra slashed at every incoming, jumping Akuma, skewering them to the sides with Santa Teresa. Neliel clung to his back, digging her head into Nnoitra's clothes.

"Fuck Nel, I can't get rid of them like this! Let go of me!"

"My body won't move!" Nel cried.

Nnoitra reached and wrapped his left arm around her body and jumped away from a surrounding herd of imps, firing a yellow Cero at the Akuma. Upon its impact bits and pieces of black body parts scattered in different directions through a cloud of dust. When the sand settled, an Akuma twice the size of a regular one stood among the dead body parts. It opened its mouth and fired a metallic blue ray at Nnoitra and Neliel.

"Wh-what the-!" Nnoitora gasped as the unknown ray approached them.

"B-both of you get away from that thing!!!" Felix screamed a hundred yards away from them.

But it was too late. The beam hit the pair and projected a large sound wave that blasted the sand into the air, blacking out the white sky and knocking Szayel, Felix, Ciro and everything else off their feet. After the explosion ceased, silence filled the desert.

* * *

**Some translation notes:**

_Lautlos Flur_: Silent Corridor [German]

_Exsequor_: Avenge/ punish [Latin]

_Akuma_: Demon/ fiend [Japanese]

To be clear, I've decided to give Lautlos Flur a German theme and Hell a Roman theme…


End file.
